The Green Party has today called for all-party co-operation on climate change and a reduction of the country's carbon emissions by 3% annually over the next ten years.
The Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, told a news conference that the 3% reduction and a whole series of measures listed by the party to tackle climate change will be a priority for them in any negotiations for the formation of a new government.
He said there has been a lot of words spoken about climate change, but the time has come for action. He said that there should be no political party point scoring on this issue.
Mr Sargent added that climate change is now the biggest challenge the country has ever faced.
The party's Spokesperson on the Environment, Ciarán Cuffe, said that what it is proposing is not going to be easy and will require radical change. But he added that the Irish people are ready to be led on the issue of climate change.
Climate experts to meet in Brussels
Meanwhile International climate experts are meeting in Brussels today to finalise their conclusions about which parts of the world will be worst affected by global warming.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the official body nominated to evaluate scientific data on the issue.
Representatives from 120 countries are finalising their second report, to be released tomorrow, that will steer policy on the issue for the foreseeable future.
It is expected that they will warn that far too little is being done to help the poorest countries adapt to changes that will inevitably happen.
They are also set to conclude that it will be the poorest countries – which have done least to create greenhouse gas emissions – who will suffer most.
